Local food movement fuels growth in West Michigan CSA farms

Katy Batdorff | The Grand Rapids PressDucks eat the newly unearthed worms while Todd Quick plows the fields at Peach Ridge Farms. ALPINE TOWNSHIP -- Todd Quick and his parents have been growing fruits and vegetables on a small scale for 20 years, trucking their produce to area farmers markets.

That was on top of Quick's construction business. But as the building industry dried up, Quick decided to focus more on farming.

This year, he and his parents launched Peach Ridge Farms CSA.

CSAs, or community supported agriculture, sell shares of their harvest to people who pay anywhere from $300 to $500 for weekly installments of a season's worth of produce.

"So many people ask for it," said Quick, 48, who is using a Facebook page to get the word out. "We're not huge like the other guys, but we put in everything, and we try to stay away from the chemicals."

Anja Mast, who with her husband, Michael VanderBrug, launched the Trillium Haven Farm CSA in Jenison in 2001, said the Quicks are part of a growing trend.

Edible Acres started in Kent City last year and another is preparing to launch in the Rockford area this year.

"CSAs started in 1986 with one in Massachusetts," Mast said. By 2007, there were more than 12,500 CSAs in the country, 463 of those in Michigan, according to a federal study (PDF).

A locally-produced documentary premiering this month backs up that statement. "Eating in Place: A conversation on food, agriculture and Michigan's future," examined the area's local food movement and found six forces driving it: social justice, taste, health, economy, environment and community.

"By community, people develop a relationship with the farmer," said Nurya Love Parish, director of the Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities, which produced the film along with Calvin College. "It's so much more meaningful when you know the person that's producing your food."

Mast and VanderBrug, who started out with 30 shareholders and now are up to 450, hope to help boost the number of CSAs in the area. They are in talks with Michigan State University to start a farmer training program, dedicating 17 acres of their land to it.

"This is our 10th year, and every year we have had more and more serious interns," Mast said. "We can practically guarantee they will have a farm in two years.

"We need more CSAs; more farmers for farmers markets."

Two of Trillium Haven's interns will be manning the Fulton Street Farmers Market this year on the farm's behalf, adding to their training, she said.

Edible Acres on Rusco Road in Kent City is entering its second year of operation. Karen Grossman, who runs the farm with her husband, Bud, said they are enjoying it. They had 25 shareholders last year and are bumping it to 50 this year.

"I think it's a great way for the community to help each other out and keep the money local," Grossman said. "Also, they're eating much better."

BY THE NUMBERS And the survey said ...
Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a growing industry in West Michigan. People buy shares of a farm's annual harvest, picking up weekly installments or having them delivered. Here are the results of a 2009 survey of CSAs in nine states, including Michigan.

4: Average number of seasons a CSA has operated

50: Percentage of average membership growth for CSAs between 2007 and 2009

45: Average age of CSA operator

25: Percentage of respondents who had no farming experience before starting CSA

43: Percentage of CSAs that require members to sign a contract

66: Percentage who grow produce by organic standards, but are not certified

87: Percentage of those who sell product through additional channels

40: Percentage of CSAs that donate excess produce to a food bank.

Source: University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension

FACT SHEET Documentary: "Eating in Place: A conversation on food, agriculture and Michigan's future"
• A few spots remain for the film's premiere, 7 p.m. April 23, Calvin College Prince Conference Center. To register: eating@grhumanities.org

• Airs on WGVU-TV Channel 35 April 24 at 4 p.m.

• For information on scheduling a screening, contact the Humanities Council at info@grhumanities.org or 616-774-1776